Wing Bone Questions

[870BkWht]

Ive decided to make a couple of wingbone calls with the hen that I just killed this past monday.  To bring you up to speed,  Ive already scraped and cut all the meat and tissue off the bones, then I just barely cut the ends off the bones to expose the marrow and have also run wire, and q tips down the bones to remove the marrow.  I currently have the bones soaking in peroxide to whiten them.  Before I get started, I just wanted to know if anyone would give me a few starter tips on fitting the bones together without cracking them or making them split, and looking for suggestions on best glues.  I also wanted to know what would be the best way to personalize the bones, IE: writing with pen, using a wood burner, paint, etc.  Also I know that some guys wrap them with thread but I dont know what kind of thread.  If any of you wing bone call makers would share a little insight, Id truly appreciate it.  I am not looking to get into a callmaking business, just wanted to make a couple of calls with the bones for memorys sake.

Thanks
Ben

[JELLYHEAD]

870, I have made a few wingbones for myself and a few friends. I boiled them in water with a little colorox, then the peroxide. Read about that in field & stream, colorox is to kill all the junk inside. As far as fitting the pieces together, hacksaw a little off at a time(fine tooth blade) until the pieces slide together easily. I used goop to glue the pieces together, just make sure you don't clog your hole with the glue. I went to Hobby Lobby to get stuff to wrap the joints, just look around a while & something will jump out at you. I used super glue to hold the wrap in place after i tied it up just for insurance. Also at the hobby shops you will find a pack of pens for doing the art work, they come in different size tips for different stuff. I also used bulls eye shellac for my finish, now i have been tinkering with box & pot calls I am using A matte lacquer. Its is an automotive finish, dries real fast & looks great. I get it from summit racing, it's made by dupli color. Now with all that said I am by no means no expert so hopefully someone who really knows can chime in & help. I love this forum, I am learning a lot of stuff, so many people are so willing to help with any question you have w/out being a jerk about it. Also the hen bones are the best sounding, then jake bones. The old long beard bones are, well they sound like a gobbler to me. Good luck, I hope you roll a monster this spring with them. Oh yea, I used a wine cork for the lip stop.

[handcannon]

Just like Jellyhead, I've made several but I'm no big timer. As he said before, boiling the bones with clorox is a good way to kill bacteria and clean out the marrow that is hiding deep in the pores. Nothing worse than the taste of an unclean bone. When you cut your bones, cut a little bit at a time to find the right spot. If the joints are really close but just not fitting quite right, do a little sanding on the exterior and maybe use a small dremmel bit on the interior to help out. Just dont take off too much cause you dont want it to chip or break off later. Just dont force anything together.

Once you have made a dry fit, you may have some small gaps between bones. Take a little bit of cotton from a Q-tip and stuff it into the holes and make sure that it is not exposed on the outside. This will help you when gluing the joints together and it wont let your glue seep down through the gap. Usually at this point, I will put just a touch of superglue there to hold the cotton in place and keep the joints from moving.

I use a two part epoxy that you can pick up at any hardware store or Wal-Mart. The 5 minute epoxy that looks like it's in two syringes is what I use. Mix it up real well and then apply it onto one of the joints. Try to give it a nice tapering transition from the large bone to the smaller. You may need to bring it up the bone nearly 1/2" if necessary. Trying to get this part uniform is kind of important when you come back to wrap your thread. It will make your wrapping a lot cleaner and neat. If you do a little searching on the net, you can find a few sites that will help you with thread wrapping. Look for rod thread wrapping techniques for custom built fishing rods. That way you will have a strong, tight wrap and you wont have any knots to worry about. If you cant find anything, shoot me a PM and I will try to draw it up for you and send it to you via email.

[870BkWht]

Jellyhead, and Handcannon,  I really appreciate your help.  Thanks so much for the pointers.  I feel confident I can do this, but just wanted some outside opinions and pointers.  Thanks again.

[TRKYHTR]

The only thing I will add is make sure that you use all right wing bones together and left wing bone together. They fit together alot better. If you don't you will not have a nice arc to your wingbone. Good luck,

TRKYHTR

[870BkWht]

Joe, that's a good tip.  Thank you.